


Summer Nights & IKEA Lights

by screechingmoonstudent



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Be gentle this is the first fic of mine that is actually going to get finished, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, IKEA, M/M, Mostly Fluff, at some point, can i skip the beginning and get to the part i actually want to write thanks, holy SHIT writing is hard, it all takes place in summer, more tags/relationships to be added, no actual college classes because i'm a dumbass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 18:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19340470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/screechingmoonstudent/pseuds/screechingmoonstudent
Summary: Life's fucked up sometimes. It packs you in with shitty situations like a can of sardines, then it spits you out when you die to make room for some other punk. But sometimes, when it gets dark inside and there's no way out, you just gotta put up some lights and bask in the irony of it all.





	Summer Nights & IKEA Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Cowboys, cowgirls, and variations thereof:  
> Welcome to this fic!!! 
> 
> This is gonna turn out to be a self-indulgent little piece of work, and honestly, if I abandon it for some stupid reason, I give ALL Y'ALL permission to seek me out and slap me in the face.  
> I think this is going to end up being on the short side (like 20k words or so), and the chapters are probably going to be 2-3k each. Kinda pathetic but that's what I'm gonna do as of now. 
> 
> Some settings in this fic are probably going to be based off of the college campus that's near my house, so if any of y'all can guess which college it is, you get a free sticker. 
> 
> As I said in the tags, this is my first fic that I actually plan on finishing, so PLEASE tell me of any grammar/spelling errors!  
> I've put a lot of thought into where I want this to go, so I have a general plan. But if you think of anything you want to see from the boys don't be afraid to drop a comment! I'm 1000% open to new ideas!
> 
> I hope you enjoy the first chapter! <3

This was it. This was the chance for a backwash country boy like him to make it in a big city college. It was the chance for him to bury himself in his studies and trailblaze his path to scientific breakthroughs that would’ve been unimaginable anywhere else. Here, he could test the limits of how far he could push himself before he went insane. He could live off of shitty meals and red bull if he so desired. He would do anything it took for the chance to get his PhD and graduate a legend, or whatever. He didn’t exactly go into this whole “college” thing with a solid plan, other than “get a degree or five and kick some ass”.

All of that was great and everything, but if he had to spend a second more than the required two years living in this sardine-for-a-house with complete strangers, he figured that he might as well implode in on himself.

Winry turned around to face his grimace. “Come on, Ed, it’s not that bad!”

Yes, he thought, it really is that bad. The so-called house that they’d paid way too much extra money for was actually half of a house, with the other half being a mirrored version of their “house” for more people to get ripped off by living in. They’d be lucky to have their own beds, at this rate. 

The guy they’d gotten in contact with had assured them that there would be plenty of space for all their needs and wants, but Ed wasn’t so sure they were in contact with someone who enjoyed telling the truth too much. He’d made it sound like they were checking in to a damn mansion.

“You’ve gotta be the second most optimistic person on the planet to say that, right behind this ball of sunshine,” Ed said, placing his gaze on Al.

“Thanks, brother,” Al chipped in. Ed couldn’t decide if it was genuine. “At least we’re in the same place, though.”

Ed leaned over to squint at the paper Al was holding. He could vaguely make out the words “Residency Assignment” in bold lettering, and an address identical to the one he memorized. Al and Winry both had pestered him about memorizing the address when the topic had come up in the car, cracking jokes about how he only did it because he was too damn stubborn about not wearing his stupid glasses. Or how susceptible he was to misplacing papers. Ed had responded to all their jests with a middle finger and cursing.

“And I think I’m right across the street, too. Maybe a few down,” Winry said.

“That’s not the issue, really. I’m grateful that you two aren’t across campus from me, but still,” Ed said, dropping his suitcase to manically gesture at the side of his and Al’s building. “Do you see how tightly these motherfuckers are packed in? There’s barely a couple of feet between ‘em! What if we get a bedroom window that’s real up-close and personal with a neighbor?” 

He wasn’t exaggerating. Between each house was barely enough room for a lawnmower. By the looks of it, nobody had ever bothered to try fitting one in there, anyway. Garages were a wisp of a dream in the wind. Cars were piled in the streets, some being obvious gifts from rich parents (including but not limited to: a silver Range Rover, a red Jeep wrangler, and a shiny black Mustang). Others looked like they’d be lucky to start up. It was a miracle that Winry’s beat up pickup truck had found a parking spot in all the clutter. 

“Too many people in not enough space is an omen for either mass destruction and tears or a love story to remember for a lifetime,” Al said wistfully. 

“Or a really fucked-up porno,” Ed said. In that moment, he could hear what Al and Winry were thinking. It was a silent (but not necessarily subtle) “why are you like this?” He snickered at the glance they sent each other’s way.

“I’m not even going to bother asking,” Winry sighed. “Well, if Ed kindly would never say anything like that for the rest of eternity, I’ll help you two get settled in. Either way, if I don’t, you two will just race each other to the library like you’re in the Olympics and let your suitcases rot in the corners of your rooms.”

“You don’t have to call us out like that, Win,” Ed said, picking up his suitcase and starting up towards the house. If they were lucky, they’d get the first pick of rooms. If they weren’t, they’d have to sleep on the kitchen floor. He was hoping for the former.

They reached the front door, finding it unlocked. Ed opened it, being the first to step into the place he and Al would be calling home for two whole years. The entryway was a narrow living room with only a couch, an armchair, and a TV that no sane college kid could conjure up the money to pay for. Beyond the living room was a humble kitchen, with all the cabinets and appliances shoved into a nook, to the left of it being an exit to the backyard area. The rest of the room was occupied by a table with six mismatched chairs. 

There wasn’t any sign of a bedroom on the first floor, and the place wasn’t nearly big enough to fit any more than four bedrooms on the second floor, unless someone happened to set up camp on the roof. Ed groaned.

“Not much wiggle room in here, is there?” Winry said.

“Let’s just get our shit upstairs,” Ed huffed. “Hopefully we won’t have to deal with roommates for a while.” Ed started towards the stairway, which was located just outside the kitchen.

“Well, the paper I took the time and energy out of my life to print says there should be four rooms and five people, so we might end up sharing, brother,” Al said.

“Oh, are you guys new here?” a voice asked from behind them. Damn it. So much for not dealing with roommates for a while.

The trio turned to look at the source of the voice. To Ed’s horror, he had a few inches on even Al. He had long black hair, which he’d pulled into a ponytail. “Yeah, this is our first year here. I’m Alphonse, and this is my brother, Edward,” Al said, gesturing to Ed. 

“Hey,” Ed said. 

“My name’s Winry, and I’m here to help these two idiots get settled in. I’m staying just down the road.” 

“Nice to meet you all! The name’s Ling Yao. This will be my second year here, so if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask!” Ling said. “There’s two other guys staying here, too. They went back to their hometown for the summer, but you’ll meet them soon enough.”

“Alright, nothing we can’t handle. Which of the rooms are taken?” Ed asked.

“The furthest one to the right of the stairs is mine, and the one next to it is taken by Fletcher and Russel. Those are the other guys staying here. They’re brothers, and they wanted to share a room, so I let them have the biggest one,” Ling informed them. “There’s two empty rooms, so you guys can take those.”

“Thank you, Ling,” Al said. “Looks like we won’t have to share after all, Ed!”

“Yeah,” Ed said. “Let’s head upstairs. Thanks, Ling.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Winry added as Ed and Al began making their way to their rooms.

“See you guys around!” Ling yelled up after them.

At least they didn’t have to camp out in the kitchen. The floor looked like it hadn’t seen a mop in years. Ed shivered at the thought of sleeping on it. 

The stairway to not-heaven dumped them in the middle of a narrow hallway with the promised two doors on the right, and another three on the left. At the right end of the hall was just enough room for a window, and at the left was a door that Ed assumed was the bathroom. 

“Ling said the two rooms on the right were taken, so which one do you want, brother? I know you were complaining about the closeness of the houses, so you can take the room in the back of the house if you want.”

Edward knew damn well that Al would suffer in silence if he were deprived of his sunset view. Al’s whole thing was enjoying the little things in nature, like birds’ nests and shit. And like, acorns or whatever. Ed wouldn’t take that from him. He couldn’t, after everything.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. You take the far room. I know you’d hate your life for the two years we’re staying here if you didn’t,” Ed said. His metal fingers tightened on the handle of his suitcase, enough to make the glove squeak against the plastic.

Al hesitated. He was all too familiar with Ed’s self-sacrificing bullshit by now. The younger Elric’s eyebrows furrowed ever-so-slightly, which was Al’s polite way of saying I know exactly what you’re doing, you little shit, and I don’t like it, but you’re not going to budge. I’ll let you do it, but I still don’t like it.

His shoulders slumped. “If you’re one hundred percent sure, brother.”

“You bet your ass I am,” Ed said.

“Now that we’ve decided, both of you go dump your suitcases in your rooms and start unpacking. I’ll go get the stuff we left in the truck,” Winry ordered, ushering them both to their respective doors.

“Fine, fine,” Ed muttered as he opened the door. 

The room was decently sized for how small the place was. There was a twin bed shoved in the left corner, and a small dresser and desk on the right wall of the room. Thankfully, curtains had already been provided. The walls were a bland gray, but aesthetics were never a problem to him. What was, however, a problem to him was the scenic view out of his one and only window. Said view consisted of only their neighbor’s window. That was it. It was just a bit out of alignment with his, but it was close enough that only the slightest bit of siding was visible from where he stood. 

God damn it. The one thing he’d dreaded was his reality for two whole years. Goodbye, privacy. Goodbye, natural light.

Was he sure he didn’t want Al’s room? Or at least to share it with him? And was Al sure they had to stay in the same place for the full two years? 

Ed groaned, walking over to his dresser and setting his suitcase down. Maybe if he just never opened the curtains, he’d be fine. Maybe if he just closed the blinds and forgot he had a window at all, he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing what goes on when he’s left alone. What if it was some creep? 

Yeah, he definitely didn’t open the window. Or realize that there wasn’t a screen. Or notice that both his and the mystery neighbor’s windows had roofs just large enough to sit on right below them. 

Except the fact that he did.

Ed’s window happened to be right above a little utility extension that probably housed the electrical panel and some other shit, and the neighbor’s window looked like it happened to be in the same sticky situation as his. 

Al was going to have a hay day when he saw it, Ed knew. He’d spout some romantic nonsense like, “Ed, what did I say earlier, about this being the chance for the love of a lifetime? I told you! Now all you have to do is meet this mysterious person and fall in love!”

As if Ed had time for a relationship. This was college, not one of those romance novels Al was obsessed with! He pinched the bridge of his nose with his non-metal hand and sighed. He was going to get so much grief from Al. 

Ed shut the window and closed the curtains. He’d forget he even had one. He’d unpack his books (that were probably getting destroyed at the moment), he’d set up his bed, and he’d get right down to business. 

At least, that was the plan.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading so far! I hope to be prompt with updates, but I know as much as you do about when they'll be. If you found any typos or grammar mistakes, please let me know so I don't have to wallow in shame for all of eternity.<3


End file.
